Before and during the Civil War, Confederate guerrillas – men like William Clarke Quantrill, “Bloody Bill” Anderson, and Frank and Jesse James – battled federal troops and Jayhawker irregulars along the Missouri-Kansas border.

That brutal era comes to life in Guerrillas in Our Midst, an original exhibit of drawings and photographs from the Library’s Missouri Valley Special Collections. It covers not only the war but also its aftermath, when former bushwhackers like the James brothers turned to outlawry.

Begun in 1942 to address labor needs in agriculture and the railroads, the U.S. government’s bracero program became the largest guest worker program in U.S. history, with hundreds of thousands of Mexican workers providing manpower from World War II through 1964.

Bittersweet Harvest, a new bilingual exhibition organized by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, examines the experiences of Bracero workers and their families, providing rich insight into Mexican-American life and historical background to today’s debates on immigration and guest worker programs.

Hixon transformed the field of portrait photography in Kansas City and the surrounding region during a career that spanned more than seven decades. His studios—the first in the Brady Building at 11th and Main Streets, and the second just one block west in the Baltimore Hotel—welcomed thousands of patrons throughout the 1910s and 1920s.

A gathering of needlework enthusiasts! This group meets the first and third Thursday of every month and works on all kinds of needlework projects (knitting, rug hooking, crochet, applique, needlepoint, embroidery, etc.) No instruction is provided. Just bring a project and have fun!

Come enjoy some of your favorite video games at the Plaza Library!
Once a week all of the games and accessories in our collection are available for you and your crew to compete in friendly gaming tournaments and you can check out the latest games to hit the shelves!

Compete against other teens with the Xbox Kinect on our large screen or take a break to duel on Super Smash Brawl, Mario Party, Mario Kart, and other Wii games. We'll also have board games available for when you're waiting in line. All games will be simultaneously in play.

Get together with other adult readers and share an evening by playing a variety of literary board games!
Games include, but are not limited to:
Bookopoly
Scrabble – Book Lovers Edition
Pride and Prejudice Board Game
Harry Potter Chess
The Hobbit Board Game

Few Supreme Court decisions have stirred up as much controversy, vitriolic debate, and even violence as 1973’s Roe v. Wade, which affirmed a woman’s right to an abortion. Peter Charles Hoffer examines the lasting impact of this landmark decision, its historical background, core issues, essential personalities, and key precedents.

Hoffer is distinguished research professor of history at the University of Georgia.

An estimated 225,000 adults in Kansas City are denied some of the simplest and most important moments in life because they cannot read.

To celebrate the joy of literacy the Library hosts the fifth annual Power of Reading: A Celebration of the Written Word. KCPT’s Nick Haines emcees. Adult students from Literacy Kansas City share their stories. And local writers – among them The Recipe (featuring Theodore “Priest” Hughes and Desmond “337” Jones), Chato Villalobos, Grace Suh, and Judith Fertig - discuss the power of reading in their lives.